East Hampton plan backfires after residents miss tax deadlines

Faced with a mounting deficit, East Hampton town officials decided they could save a few thousand dollars by not mailing semiannual tax reminder notices to property owners.
But while the town saved the cost of the courtesy letters, it also failed to collect about $2.2 million from taxpayers who didn’t pay because they weren’t reminded to.

East Hampton’s tax shortfall was recently covered by Suffolk County, which will collect the outstanding taxes and then charge delinquent property owners an 11 percent penalty for the county’s trouble.

For years, reminder letters had been sent out by the town in December for first-half taxes and in May for the second half of the tax bill.

One of those who missed the May 31 payment deadline was homeowner Robert Marks, who said he would have paid the taxes had he gotten a reminder like he had every year since he moved to East Hampton eight years ago.

Marks said the town didn’t figure on the consequences of its cost-cutting measure.
“They’re making taxpayers angry,” Marks said. “They would have collected most of it in May if they had sent out the letters.”

East Hampton Supervisor Bill McGintee said the tax reminder letters actually cost the town about $13,000 a year to send out, something it’s not legally required to do.

McGintee said the town did put tax payment notices in the local newspaper and he added that property owners are “responsible adults,” some of whom choose to “wait till the last minute” to meet their obligations.

Suffolk has made up delinquent taxes in Southold and Riverhead for the last few years, but spokesperson Mark Smith said this was the first time that the county had to cover a property tax shortfall for East Hampton.

Bill Wilkinson, who is campaigning to succeed McGintee as supervisor, said the need to cut costs was brought on by fiscal irresponsibility.
Last year the town raised taxes by nearly 24 percent. Last month the town’s budget director, Ted Hults, was arrested by Suffolk police for allegedly dipping into its Community Preservation Fund to shore up increasing shortfalls of revenue.

Like many towns, home sales have also slowed there, causing mortgage tax receipts to decline by about 42 percent in the last year.

Wilkinson said even though East Hampton’s budget deficit is approaching $20 million, the town should have more compassion for its residents, especially when it comes to tax reminders.

“For the ease of financial restrictions we forgot our sense of community,” Wilkinson said.
McGintee speculated that the increase in tax delinquencies might have more to do with a sluggish economy than the lack of reminders. “We have a small group of wealthy residents but we also have teachers, restaurant workers and landscapers,” McGintee said of East Hampton, home to Paul McCartney, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Seinfeld. “This is a normal working town.”